February 16, 2011

The Morning Wrap

Willful Blindness: In his first interview for publication since his arrest in December 2008, Bernard Madoff told the New York Times that unidentified banks and hedge funds were somehow "complicit" in his elaborate fraud, pointing to their "willful blindness" and their failure to examine discrepancies between his regulatory filings and other information available to them.

Rape Suit: A group of veterans and service members is suing the Pentagon for its alleged mishandling of rapes and sexual abuse by members of the military. Fifteen women and two men filed a federal class-action lawsuit on Tuesday, Politico reports.

Exposed: Hunton & Williams stood to be the channel for $2 million in monthly subcontractor payments as part of a plan to discredit anti-corporate critics, according to e-mails that are drawing intense scrutiny of the law firm, The National Law Journal reports.

Howrey Departures: Howrey's San Francisco construction practice group is splintering, with seven partners heading to Jones Day – a move which comes on the heels of IP litigator K.T. "Sunny" Cherian's move with his group to Hogan Lovells, The Recorder reports.

All in the Family: Macau gaming magnate Stanley Ho has launched a fresh lawsuit against family members he accuses of stealing control of his Hong Kong-listed SJM Holdings Ltd, his lawyer said, according to Reuters.

Borderline: Borders Group Inc., the number-two U.S. bookstore chain, filed for bankruptcy in New York today after management changes, job cuts and debt restructuring failed to make up for sagging book sales, Bloomberg reports.